Pullen and Martinez’s New Closets

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZER: Eric Marshall, Modern Closets, (480)755-1234.

THE PROBLEM: The closets in Mike Pullen and Tim Martinez’s Chandler house were packed with shoes and clothes, Martinez’s belongings, including dozens of shoes jammed the walk-in master closet, Pullen’s belongings crowded smaller closets in the guest bedroom, game room and den.

In the game room, jeans stacked 2 to 3 feet high lined the upper shelf of the small walk-in closet, Pullen, who loves to shop, figured he had 60 pairs.

In the den closet, office supplies were hard to see because of the clothes that took up one side.

Although their closets were bursting at the seams, the men had made a decent stab at getting organized: Dress shoes were in one spot, casual clothing hung on the same pole and dress clothes on another.

What they needed was more space – space that was even more organized.

THE SOLUTION: Pullen and Martinez contacted six closet remodelers before hiring Modern Closets. The two particularly liked the CAD (Computer-aided design) n- 3-D drawings of what the closets would look like when finished – that owner Eric Marshall provided them at a preliminary meeting.

The night before the make-over, the men took everything out of three of the four closets. They removed items from the master-bedroom closet the next morning while Modern Closets’ three workmen remodeled a closet in another room. The remodeling process took about five hours. Marshall had suggested waiting until construction before purging items. So while new shelving was being built, Martinez and Pullen went through clothing and shoes and pulled out items that no longer fit or rarely were worn. They set them aside to donate to charity. They filled eight large garbage bags with items, Some of which still had tags.

THE OUTCOME: The closets look airy and open, Pullen said, “It’s nice to see organized space.” Pullen said the master closet looked just like the computer-aided design. Now, clothes and shoes fit neatly. The other closets are roomier than Pullen had envisioned. Jeans are short-stacked on built-in shelves, with no danger of toppling. Shoes are organized by color and use, whether dress or casual. The clothing overflow in the den closet has been eliminated, resulting in a neat storage area for office supplies.

TIPS:

• - When having closets remodeled, plan to spend a day sorting through clothing, getting rid of things and reorganizing, Pullen said.
• - Shelves and cubicles make it much easier to store shoes and belongings and to see what you have, Marshall said.
• - Organize clothing by color and style.

Sue Doerfler Arizona Republic April 24, 2004